‘The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil’ (2019): Old Ingredients with Fresh Execution

Directed by: Lee Won-tae || Produced by: Won-seok Jang, Seo Kang-ho

Screenplay by: Lee Won tae || Starring: Ma Dong-seok, Kim Mu-yeol, Kim Sung-kyu, Choi Min-chul, Heo Dong-won

Music by: Jo Yeong-wook || Cinematography: Park Se-seung || Edited by: Heo Sun-mi, Han Young-kyu || Country: South Korea || Language: Korean

Running Time: 109 minutes

I stand by my earlier assertions that what Korean cinema does best is hard-hitting, grimy crime dramas, often with a focus on homicide detectives or serial-killer antagonists (e.g. Memories of Murder [2003], The Chaser [2008], I Saw the Devil [2010], The Call [2020]) and occasionally blended with touches of other genres (e.g. Save the Green Planet [2003], Mother [2009], The Forgotten [2017]). More than undead zombie epics (e.g. Train to Busan [2016], #Alive [2020]), critically acclaimed esoteric awards-bait (e.g. Okja [2017], Burning [2018]), or over-the-top action flicks (e.g. Shiri [1999], The Villainess [2017], The Wolf Brigade [2018], Badland Hunters [2024]), Korean crime dramas are Korean cinema at their most consistent and effective, I argue, regardless of a given viewer’s genre preferences. Melodramatic Korean serials and Joseon period dramas may appeal to many demographics, but Korean features about hard-boiled cops pursuing murderous street predators as well as bloodthirsty gangsters are about the purest blend of intelligent, stylized cinematic entertainment you can find worldwide.

Ma Dong-seok (center) and co-lead Kim Mu-yeol (off-screen) brawl with members from a rival gang about midway through The Gangster, the Cop, The Devil.

Enter The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (are we sure there isn’t the word “and” in there, somewhere?), the sophomore picture of writer-director Lee Won-tae, one of the more entertaining Korean crime thrillers of the last several years where handsome character-actor Kim Mu-yeol (“the Cop”) teams up with charismatic strongman Ma Dong-seok (“the Gangster”) to apprehend the ever sly, witty Kim Sung-kyu (“the Devil,” or the serial murderer antagonist in this case) in Seoul. At a brisk yet action-packed 109 minutes in length, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (henceforth, GCD) feels like the cops-and-robbers — or, rather, cops and robbers vs serial-killers — version of The Raid (2011), an all thrills and no frills adventure that leaps from set-piece to set-piece with minimal character development save for whatever personality the talented, likable main cast imbue their archetypal characters through their performances. This streamlined narrative structure may not please all critics who wish for multilayered, three-dimensional characterizations supplied with heady social commentary, yet those who prioritize sound three-act storytelling and efficient pacing are in for a treat.

GCD opens with Kim Sung-kyu knifing a random civilian on the street after rear-ending his victim’s car, exemplifying his stalker modus operandi. The film then introduces Kim Mu-yeol’s aggressive, headstrong detective, who beefs with Ma’s midlevel gang boss about illegal gambling operations before the former is assigned to the aforementioned murder case. Once Sung-kyu later targets Ma using the same intentional fender-bender tactic, all three starring castmembers get more than they bargained for as they slowly realize they’re operating in the same movie, where their rock-paper-scissors relationship ensures no single character ever has the upper hand for too long.

Direction-wise, Lee stays away from unstabilized handheld camerawork throughout most of the film despite the story’s fast pace and plethora of fight and chase sequences, instead opting for subtle Steadicam oners, brief tracking shots that circumvent typical shot-reverse-shot edits in many cases, and well composed static singles that take advantage of sophisticated blocking of characters against their environment, including within moving vehicles. The synergy between this well framed, diverse cinematography and the precise cutting style, the latter of which refrains from using rhythmic montage sequences unless where absolutely necessary, allows the film to maintain its brisk pace without feeling too rushed throughout its first two acts.

It’s in the back half of GCD’s final act where elements of this breakneck pace stumble a little, however. My lone complaints with this efficient, entertaining thriller have to do with how certain supporting characters get shortchanged in the end despite how much screentime they’re allotted in Act One (e.g. a violent crimes unit chief here, a gangster lieutenant there), as well as the lack of an extended, patient final confrontation between the three titular characters where everyone can chew the scenery in their own time.

Put another way, GCD is one of the few recent films I’ve enjoyed that seems to have taken my longstanding advice for most popular cinema to edit themselves down too seriously. The irony of me nitpicking a film as otherwise effective as this is not lost on me, and recalls memories of a time as “recent” as the early to mid-2000s where mainstream Hollywood genre films restrained their feature-length storytelling to around two hours or less.

Kim Sung-kyu stars as the titular serial-killer “devil,” a worthwhile antagonist to adversaries on both sides of the law.

In the end, though, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil is a great case study for both the entertainment value and the directorial efficiency of the modern Korean crime drama. The-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend dynamic with which it plays is far from original (see the classic westerns of For a Few Dollars More [1965], The Wild Bunch [1969], Duck, You Sucker [1971], Unforgiven [1992], etc., as well as fellow crime dramas LA Confidential [1997], Training Day [2001], and The Departed [2006]), but with cinematic results like these, it’s hard to argue with the execution by filmmaker Lee Won-tae.

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SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION: Chock-full of bloody fistfights and tense chase scenes, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (… and the Devil?) showcases yet again the power of combining opposite characters played by talented actors within the context of an uncensored genre film. Rigorous editing and breakneck pacing strip every ounce of fat from this thrill ride while slick photography and blocking keep the action on screen crystal clear.

— However… the film becomes perhaps too fast-paced for its own good by the end, where smaller yet still important roles fade into the background while our three starring actors never get an extended, uninterrupted sequence together.

—> RECOMMENDED for crime thriller fans — and other audiences, as well — to have a bloody good time.

? Come to think of it, did we see a single firearm discharge in this entire film? GCD only featured melee weapons, if I’m not mistaken…